“It’s through gritted teeth that B&T admits this Tourism NZ ad is exceptionally good,” reads the intro to this unlikely story published yesterday in Aussie ad/media e-sheet B&T.
“And, yeah (B&T continues), “we know about the rugby.
“Always brave with its ad creatives, Tourism New Zealand has unveiled another great, albeit slightly bonkers spot, starring none other than the country’s prime minister, Jacinda Ardern.
And who better to add the absurd element than master Kiwi comic and Flight of the Conchords star, Rhys Darby.
The two-and-half minute long spot sees Los Angeles-based Darby contact the PM, alarmed that New Zealand is being left off world maps.
“At press time, it was not clear which agency and film company shot the ad.”
Darby peruses a number of maps looking for his beloved Land of the Long White Cloud and declares: “New Zealand, where the bloody hell are ya” – a cheeky dig at an (in)famous Aussie campaign from a decade ago.
“Admittedly,” concedes B&T, “the campaign doesn’t exactly highlight New Zealand’s sights and spectacular scenery and even Darby compares it to a ‘half-eaten lamb chop’. Still, it’s deliriously funny and one of the ads of 2018.
Tourism NZ is pushing the video to visitor markets such as the United States, United Kingdom and Australia. But at press time, it was not clear which agency and film company shot the ad.
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